1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to improvements in band strapping machines. More particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for quickly replacing an empty band reel with a full band reel to minimize the down time of a conveyor line during reel changes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Strapping machines are used, as their name implies, to wrap flexible metallic bands around packages or other containers. The containers are usually delivered to the strapping machine on a conveyor means to enable continuous operation of the strapping machine. The band is coiled on a large, rotatably mounted supply reel which must be replaced when it is empty. All of the known strapping machines currently in use have but one supply reel, and it is a time-consuming chore to change the reel when it becomes empty. Therefore, the conveyor line must be stopped during the reel change and this, of course, adversely affects productivity.
More specifically, when the supply reel of an existing machine becomes empty, the conveyor means delivering packages thereto must be stopped, and the operator of the strapping machine must wait for the empty supply reel to coast to a stop. Once the empty supply reel has stopped rotating, the operator must remove that reel and replace it with a full reel. The leading end of the new reel must then be threaded through the machine until it reaches a point where the machine can be re-started. Thus, the conveyor means is shut down for a considerable period of time every time a supply reel becomes empty.
Many inventors have improved the known machines in an effort to make them work better. There have been so many refinements over the years that the conventional wisdom in this art is that the major developments in this field have already been made and that the strapping machines of the future will merely be refined versions of the existing machines.
For example, the size of the supply reels has been increased so that the time interval between reel changes is increased. Moreover, operators have been trained to handle the reel changing procedure in a fast, efficient manner. The operators have also been provided with new tools to help them accomplish their task. Thus, the teachings of the prior art suggest to those of ordinary skill in this field that more effort should be made in the direction of means for changing the reels more quickly, but how that goal could be accomplished is not obvious.